Before & After: Happy Kids' Art Wall

This past Summer, a client of ours moved into a large newly-built home. There were so many areas to address (we're still going) but one of the most important areas in making a house feel like a home is the kitchen. Our client had collected a ton of her children's artwork and so we thought it would be great to make a focal point in the kitchen dining area out of it. My client's style is bright & happy & fun so the colors were perfect. We started out with this:

And we ended up with this:

We had so much fun creating this collage!!! In the evening, the sconces create the prefect glow around the artwork. We still have to do a bit of styling to do (a zebra rug was in our original plan & we need to put something pretty on the table- I'll be sure to get a final professional pic!) but I am loving the vibe!!! The curtains are this great red medallion pattern that's happy, fresh & graphic.

This is something I've been meaning to do forevah for my boys & so my client's project gave me the get-up-and-go I needed. It was super-easy but had such a big, personal impact on the space. (I love easy high-impact projects.) We picked up frames this weekend for house & I'm now scouring my house for the boys' artwork. (I'm not as organized as my client with my kids's stuff! ;) I'll be sure to share pics when we're done too!

My clients kids are so proud to have their artwork displayed in such a prominent spot in the house. (They now even have plans for more walls!! :) If you've got a spot for it, I think it's one of the coolest things you can do to make your kids feel like they've been included in "decorating" your home.

Wow, have always wanted a wall like this! Love everything about it! It adds so much character, color and it is personal too! Thank you for sharing all of your projects, it is so great to see what you are working on!

Great idea...I have collected and displayed my kids art for years. My favorite is our pumpkin chain of allthe construction pumpkins the kids have made over the years that comes out every halloween. Cant wait to see your boy's art wall!

i absolutely love it. we have our babies in our homes for such a short time. then they go off and grow into people! i love this. live it up while they are living under your roof...it's not going to last forever. ;)

I love it! I'm SOOO glad you swapped out the light fixture. At first when I was scrolling down, I was a little worried when you said that you "started with this" because I thought you meant you were just going to add the art and maybe some accessories, but the modern drum shade totally brings together the gallery wall and the dining set. Whew, I totally gave out a sigh of relief when I saw the after!

omg, this is wonderful! "This is something I've been meaning to do forevah for my boys..." is exactly my thought. My kids will be adults buy the time I hang up their stuff! Thanks for the reminder. I'll post mine when it's done too...

As a decorator & a textile designer, this is my place to muse... perfection doesn't interest me; Reality and charm do. Fresh floppy flowers from the garden over long-stemmed roses any day, I love it when things are slightly off and tell a story.